PAINTED POST, N.Y. – Lekhnath Ghimire, of Painted Post, was feeling “very lucky” when he won $5,000,000 on the New York Lottery’s Set For Life scratch-off game.

Ghimire, who works part-time at the Hamilton Mini Mart in Painted Post, was finishing his shift on February 15 and told the store owner, Renu Singh, that he was feeling “very lucky.” Mr. Singh suggested that he buy a lottery ticket.

Ghimire said, “I really don’t play Lottery games that often, but that day I was feeling very lucky. So I picked out two Set for Life tickets because I like the prize on that game.”

Ghimire scratched off the winning ticket right away and saw that the number “19” matched up and underneath it said “Life.” “I was hoping that I was going to win big and when I saw the number match up and then the word ‘Life,’ I just couldn’t believe it. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. So I just put the ticket in my pocket, but then I took it out four or five times to re-check it,” he said.

 
After waiting a few days, Ghimire came to the Lottery’s Buffalo Customer Service Center on February 17 to claim his jackpot prize. He has chosen to receive his Set for Life prize as a one-time lump sum payment totaling $2,763,474 after required withholdings.

When asked to describe how it feels to be a new Lottery millionaire Ghimire said, “It’s hard to describe how it feels to win the Lottery, but I know it feels awesome. I’ve thought about my plans, and I want to help my family out and just be secure for my future.”

He is the 24th New Yorker to claim a New York Lottery prize of $1,000,000 or more so far this year.

The New York Lottery contributed $26,637,529 in Lottery Aid To Education to school districts in Steuben County during fiscal year 2014-15.

About the New York Lottery

The New York Lottery continues to be North America’s largest and most profitable Lottery, contributing $3.11 billion in fiscal year 2014-2015 to help support education in New York State. The Lottery’s contribution represents 14 percent of total state education aid to local school districts.

New York Lottery revenue is distributed to local school districts by the same statutory formula used to distribute other state aid to education. It takes into account both a school district’s size and its income level; larger, lower-income school districts receive proportionately larger shares of Lottery school funding.